At one of the most iconic settings for a middle school cross country race, local runners took on the Moonlight Beach Cross Country Meet on Oct. 17.
The Boys & Girls Club of Northwest San Diego’s Big 8 league has been running this special meet for about 20 years on the beach in Encinitas. This year, the meet drew Cougars and Seahawks, Wolves and Bobcats to the sand, representing San Dieguito Union High School District schools such as Diegueno, Oak Crest, Earl Warren, Pacific Trails, Carmel Valley Middle along with Aviara Oaks and Calavera Hills from Carlsbad.
On a cloudy yet warm afternoon, the runners took on a 1.5-mile out and back course with family and friends cheering them on higher up on the beach. Dolphins were spotted jumping out in the ocean as the kids kicked up sand. The runners from Carmel Valley Middle School nearly swept all four races, with the teams winning the sixth and seventh grade girls race and both the boys and girls eighth grade race. Pacific Trails won the seventh grade boys
race.
In the sixth and seventh grade boys race, Pacific Trails seventh grader Felix Hellberg finished first in 9:06.46, followed by Carmel Valley Middle School’s Skye Beckstom and Pacific Trails’ Nayan Merrill in third.
Speedy Kristen Rosskopf, a Carmel Valley Middle seventh grader, won the girls’ 6/7 race with a time of 9:18.15, the fastest girls’ time of the day. Leela Gonzales of Pacific Trails finished third.
The top runner in the 8th grade boys race was Charles Wood who cruised to the finish line in 8:42.36, followed by Carmel Valley Middle School’s Phillip Terry and Oak Crest runner Neev Rohatgi.
On the girls side, Calavera Hills eighth grader Addison Slattery won by covering the distance in 9:45.81, followed by Carmel Valley teammates Molly Fiser and Audrey Chacon in second and third.
Afterward, many of the runners waded into the ocean to cool their sandy, tired feet.
